Tchaikovsky: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 & 3 "Grand Sonata"

Featuring

Leslie Howard
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Instruments

This recording features Leslie Howard playing a Steinway & Sons piano, prepared by Ulrich Gerhartz.

Composer Biography

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, the composer, was especially fond of the piano, practicing constantly and producing a large body of piano music throughout his life.

Composition History

The Sonata 'No 1' in F minor was left incomplete and untitled by Tchaikovsky, and its present form was completed by Leslie Howard, the pianist on this recording.

Compositional Technique

The Scherzo of the C sharp minor Sonata uses material that later appeared in the same position in Tchaikovsky's First Symphony, highlighting the orchestral quality of his piano writing.

Composition History

The Sonata 'No 2' in C sharp minor, Op 80, was published posthumously by the Russian composer and pedagogue Sergey Taneyev, who also completed other unfinished works by Tchaikovsky.

Critical Reception

Much of Tchaikovsky's piano music, including his most important piano work, the Grand Sonata, Op 37, has been unfairly neglected, with critics often suggesting it would fare better if orchestrated.